Jackson’s season ends as C6D1 runner-ups

The Jackson boys’ basketball team’s quest to return to the Class 6 Final Four came to an end on Tuesday, March 5.

The Indians ran into the proverbial buzzsaw that was the Cardinal Ritter Lions in a 55-44 loss in the Class 6 District 1 championship game at Lindbergh High School in St. Louis.

The Indians started slowly against the Lions, who won the Class 5 state championship twice in the previous three years and a Class 3 title the year before. After trailing 12-4 in the first quarter, senior Blayne Harris carried the tribe with 11 points in the second quarter to pull Jackson within three, entering halftime down 23-20.

The Indians were doomed in the third quarter, as they were outscored 17-3 to enter the final period in a 40-23 hole.

“Their defense is spot on,” Jackson head coach Kory Thoma said. “We weren't able to execute. We had too many turnovers.”

The Indians came alive in a frantic attempt to rally in the fourth quarter and snatch the title from the jaws of defeat. Kole Deck scored 12 points in the fourth quarter to lead a 21-point team effort. The Indians made 13-of-14 free throws during the final period but it wasn’t enough.

“My kids played hard,” Thoma said. “There was no doubt in that. But the overall system of our game, we turn the ball over too much and their defense was better than us.”

Deck and Harris finished with 15 points each. Harris previously scored 23 in the semifinal game to push the Indians this far in the tournament.

Gavin Holdman made all of his five points on free throws, going 5-of-6 from the charity stripe. Fellow seniors Judd Thoma scored six points, Braedon Thoma put up two points and Braedon Thoma added one point to round out the scoring for the Indians.

Jackson finished with a 19-10 record. Deck finishes his junior season as the team leader in scoring with 20 points per game. Judd, averaging 11.4 PPG, scored the second most points among the Indians with 332. Due to injuries earlier in the season, Harris only played 14 games during his final season but averaged 14.3 PPG. Holdman rounds out the top scorers with 8.9 PPG.

The departing seniors took Jackson to the final four for the first time since the 1930s in Thoma’s first season as head coach. He applauded them for laying out the foundation of the program.

“We talked about culture a lot,” Thoma said about the seniors. “My seniors are vitally important to build the culture of the program. So hopefully we see that coming and coming again. I love every one of those kids that are leaving this program.”

It was an emotional ending for Thoma as well, as he coached his son, Braeden, and his nephew, Judd, for the final time.

“It was very emotional,” Thoma said. “Those kids, they've battled to the end. We could have given up a lot earlier but that hasn't been us all year. We got a good game and hopefully, they respect us from this point going forward.”